There are no tyrants where there are no slaves (Jose Rizal)
Which Filipino are you?

November 17, 2008

                            


I am reminded of this phrase from the Noli Me Tangere of our hero Jose Rizal, every time I ponder on the passive submission of the Filipinos in the face of barefaced lies, abuses and many other indignities that are being heaped upon them by the Arroyo government. I can almost see Jose Rizal painfully looking down upon us right now. Sadness is an understatement of how he must be feeling witnessing that the people he gave up his life for have fallen again in misery and despair. Not anymore under a foreign despot but this time under a native born tyrant—a tyrant that is a fulfilment of one his prescient warning to the Filipinos.

The Filipinos are now modern day slaves without realizing what they have become, The absence of the Spanish conquistador, the the Castillan encomenderos, the American carpet baggers, the Japanese kempeitai and the Marcos military government, along with the presence of a supposedly legitimately elected president have lulled them into thinking that they are a free people living the life aspired for them by our heroes & forefathers like Rizal, Bonifacio & Mabini, as enshrined in the preamble of the Philippine Constitution. Let me quote it in full for the benefit of those who may not be familiar with the preamble yet.

Preamble of the Philippine Constitution

We, the sovereign Filipino, imploring the aid of the almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.

This aspiration for our people has been completely flouted by this Arroyo government. The rule of law is used so that truth is hidden, justice is sold, freedom is denied, love is concealed, equality is buried and peace is rendered elusive. The majority of the impoverished Filipino people have become slaves to hunger; those who have jobs with meager wages have become slaves to the weariness of their toil; those who have knowledge of wrongdoings have become slaves to fear. Those who have been endowed with certain capabilities have become slaves to their own ambition, so that they will do anything right or wrong just to advance their own ambition. And worse, there are those who have been blessed with certain talents that have become slaves to money, and instead of becoming a blessing to the people, they have become a curse upon them. For as St. Thomas Aquinas said, “The corruption of the Best, is the worst form of corruption”.

These types of people give rise to the tyrant that we have. These are the types of Filipinos that this tyrant would like to have, to prolong her domination of the people. They will keep the poor people hungry and ignorant. They will keep the workers at the margins of society. They will make the bureaucracy and private sector fearful of government reprisals. They will offer the young professionals fulfilment of their ambitions in exchange for their idealism. And they will offer the talented Filipinos gigantic amounts of money in exchange for their soul. Tyrants do not fear these types of people, they nurture them.

What tyrants fear the most, firstly are Filipinos, no matter what their station in life may be, who are faithful to the Christian commandment of “Love thy neighbour as you love yourself”. For true Christians can never live and call themselves Christian, if they will tolerate or even participate in such large scale thievery that is being done today against their neighbour.

Second, tyrants fear Filipinos who have educated themselves in their professional disciplines, in their constitutional liberties, in their political rights, in their basic economic fundamentals, in the nuances of the humanities and of philosophy. For these are the Filipinos who have glimpsed the light of a true humane society; these are Filipinos who can share the light with the rest of the nation that are still in
the dark either by force of circumstance or by choice, for these are the Filipinos who can inflame the hearts of the masses to aspire for much more than the scraps which the tyrants throw at them from the table of their feast.

Lastly, the tyrants fear the Filipinos who truly love their country, who will not give up their idealism even in the face of alluring seduction such as the fulfilment of their lifelong ambition. The tyrants fear Filipinos who truly love God and country who will not give up their souls in exchange for huge sums of money and the promise of power in the tyrants’ court.

Which Filipino are you?

I was once asked by a journalist if I do not regret what I did, that in spite of my sacrifice and the suffering of my family, nothing have changed in the structure of Philippine society. Those who steal and lie are still there while I remain in limbo and uncertain of my future.

I gave him an answer that went this way, “Yes, I agree that it is tragic that Arroyo remains in power along with the rest of her people. But I believe that the bigger tragedy right now is the more than eighty million Filipinos who acquiesce to be subjected to the indignity heaped upon them by a handful of people”.

Defiance against a tyrant is obedience to God!

Dear Bishops Lagdameo, Cruz, Villegas, Sorra & Baylon,

Peace be with you!

I wish to thank you for making the statement on corruption being a social and moral cancer of the country. Allow me to take liberty to quote one paragraph of the said statement,

“In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now. The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now.”

I was hopeful that after so many exhortations and guidance from the CBCP as demonstrated by the following paragraphs, the primary purveyors of corruption in the country would have heeded you. Unfortunately, as attested by the turn of events, corruption escalated by leaps and bounds.

“In the strongest term we condemn graft and corruption as an offense against society and sin against God. God will certainly hold the perpetrators accountable. To combat this evil we also proposed the formation of citizens’ councils to promote public awareness, to monitor the use of public funds, and to initiate charges against guilty officials” (CBCP “Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream” July 7, 2003).

The Bishops again said “Moral accountability calls for radical reforms in various agencies of government to make them more responsive to the requirements of integrity as well as to the needs of the poor” (CBCP Restoring Trust.” July 10, 2005, no. 10). “We strongly condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political order” (CBCP “Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity” Feb 26, 2008).”

It was truly heartening and a cause for hope that the bishops representing the moral authority of the people as the Church of Christ have now found their voice to call for a more vigorous action against this moral cancer that is destroying the very Body of the Church. It is a cancer that many consider as the greatest violence against those who are living and even to those who are yet to be born. Which makes me wonder - how come the CBCP can be so passionate about direct political involvement regarding the RH Bill yet so suddenly cautious when it comes to corruption issues that victimize both the living and the unborn? Many are convinced that it has something to do with PAGCOR & PCSO, but that is something I have no personal knowledge of.

But the hope is short lived as other bishops began distancing themselves from you and some even directly making statements contrary to the message you have delivered. The usual line is that your views do not represent the view of the CBCP. It makes me sad to see the very pastors of the Church of Christ behave like partisan politicians than pastors of the same Church. But, if some would insist to decide along partisan political lines, why don’t you play by the same rules that our politicians use, that is, using their superior numbers to impose their tyranny upon the people that make up the Church?

In Congress, the superior numbers game has been used to negate the legitimate election results of 2004; the numbers game was again employed to defeat the lawful recourse provided by the Constitution to impeach a wrong doer of the highest position of the land, not just once but three times already, and most probably a fourth time in the coming weeks.

In the Supreme Court, the superior numbers game has been used to deny the people the right to know the truth about the orders given by GMA to Neri, inspite of the fact that Neri already advised GMA of the P200 M bribe offered by Abalos. The numbers game has been repeatedly used to uphold the Executive Privilege to stop Neri from testifying.

If those who have been denying the people to know the truth and constantly thwarting the people’s desire for a legitimate leader by using the numbers game, why can’t the bishops use the same method in pushing for a cure for this moral cancer? Please pardon me for offering this unsolicited advice, but why don’t the bishops call for a straw vote among the CBCP so whatever decision wins can be presented as the CBCP stand on this issue of corruption that you, as individual bishops, have spoken very strongly about - a firm stand that as the AMRSP letter states may bring a Pentecostal event in our Church that is being devastated by this moral cancer.

The absence of such a statement from our bishops collectively as the CBCP, I believe, will obscure more than illuminate the already darkly clouded moral landscape of the Church to which we belong. We look upon you to bring about the light that will illuminate the path towards cure from this moral cancer that you have correctly identified for us.

I believe that the bishops are free from the most common obstacle that the secular members of the Church have to overcome, which would be, the opposition of the elders and the rich men who tremble at the thought of seeing their interests threatened by government reprisals. As our history has shown, the rich and their powerful friends in our country will always be the principal agents in sowing fear and distrust even in the most courageous heart. We believe in our hearts that the bishops are still the sons of Peter and not of Caiphas. That for many of them truth and lies are never the same.

May you light our path!

Sincerely yours,

Jun Lozada

Dear Joc-Joc,

Allow me to call you Joc-Joc as you have been known in the media and by many Filipinos too. As of this morning of the 24^th of October, 2008, news about your lawyer petitioning the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the implementation of the arrest warrant issued by the Senate upon your arrival, hugs the headline of the major dailies together with the radio and TV news broadcast. The whole country seems to be anxiously awaiting your return, I am sure your family is also eager to see you back as well.

It is about your family that I am writing you about, because of what my own family went through when I was in a similar situation that you are in now. Being a father myself, I know that the welfare and safety of your family is your foremost concern in the middle of all the controversy and the uncertainty that you are facing.

There is so much fear right now that pervades your life along with your loved ones. Questions such as: how safe are you in Manila? Is there a possibility that someone may attempt to harm you or your family? How are the people that you are covering for, going to help you? How are you going to answer questions from media? How can the people you are covering be trusted with their dilatory tactics to get you off the hook, away from the prying questions of the opposition senators?

We get caught up in all of these questions of “us versus them” way of thinking, that we almost forget to ask the right questions anymore–

right questions such as: how are my children hurt with the truth that I am generally perceived as a corrupt criminal by the Filipino nation? How are my children going to explain my involvement in this fertilizer scam to their friends? How is my wife going to face our friends and still be seen as a person with integrity? What legacy am I leaving my children? Is leaving them with millions of money and big houses in Ayala Alabang better than leaving them with a good name?

I am sharing these with you, because if there is one thing that I did regret in telling the truth about how this Arroyo administration has been stealing from the very people it is supposed to serve, it is that I was not able to prepare my wife and my children well enough against the backlash of this government’s wrath against me for telling the people about their crimes. You still have time to discern your next move, whether or not you are going to tell the people the truth about the fertilizer scam or bring the secret to your grave, just like Romy Neri. As a father, I am asking you to please think about your children, please consider the legacy you are going to leave to them. Are you going to forever leave them as pariahs branded as children of a thief–or as children of someone who did wrong and yet chose to serve his country at the end, rather than to be a captive forever of the dark forces he used to serve? And please prepare your family whatever way you may wish to choose. Discuss this together with them because at the end of it all, they will suffer or be affected more as a consequence of your decision.

Secondly as a fellow Rotarian, how about asking the Four Way test as part of your discernment process? Is it the Truth? Is it fair to everyone concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to everyone concerned? You have been a good Rotarian for many good years of your life. Will you now turn your back on these ideals in the biggest test of your Rotarian values?

Lastly, let me share with you one of the most profound lessons I have learned in my own journey towards the truth, a truth not as a goal to be reached but rather as a way of life to be lived. I have found that the opposite of all the fears I am confronted with is not courage but faith. It is faith in a God who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”, a just God who will judge us not in terms of the wealth we have on earth but in terms of what we did to our fellow human beings. It is my faith in this God that allowed me to face all the fears that I am confronted with when I decided to tell the truth that I know about the NBN-ZTE scam. May you find the faith to lead you to the Light of God’s love that no darkness can ever defeat, not even a President of the Republic of the Philippines.

May God bless you with the wisdom to choose your path.

Jun Lozada

Human Behavior in an Abusive Relationship

All literature about abusive relationship such as domestic violence in a home, bullying in a school or different forms of harassment in a workplace shows that the situation will only improve once the victims learn how to say no to the abusers and tell themselves that they will not take any more abuse or violence ever again. Only then will the process of healing and liberation begin for the abused. Because over and over again the abuser will only show a pattern of abusive behavior and apology, yet will continue with the harmful acts to the abused.

The Power to ASK – The Untapped Power of Each Filipino to say NO!

In many forums that I have participated in as a resource speaker, the most common question asked of me is, “What can an ordinary Filipino do to fight the abuses of GMA?” My answer to this question is simple: each Filipino has the right and the ability to ask questions, and each one can use this right to force an answer from their leaders, until many of these leaders are disturbed enough to take action against the abuser.

Kung ikaw ay isang bata, tanungin mo ang iyong mga magulang, bakit nila hinahayaan ang gobyerno ni GMA na sirain ang inyong kinabukasan? Bakit nila pinababayaan ang walang humpay na pag-sisinungaling, at kapag nabubuking katulad ng NBN-ZTE at MOA sa MILF ay sasabihin lamang na binawi na, kaya ok lang? (Bilin ko sa mga bata ay kanilang bantayan ang reaksyon ng mukha ng kanilang magulang kapag ito ay kanilang tinatanong)

Kung ikaw ay isang estudyante, tanungin mo ang iyong kaklase, propesor o ang inyong principal o dean sa kolehiyo bakit hindi sila kumikibo sa harapan ng harap-harapang pang-iinsulto sa kanilang mataas na kaisipan na pinag-gagawa ng mga nasa gobyerno?

Kung ikaw ay isang empleyado, tanungin mo ang may-ari ng iyong pinapasukan bakit sila pumapayag sa pang-gigipit sa kanila ng mga tiwaling kawani ng gobyerno na dapat nga ay nagsisilbi sa kanila? Bakit sila pumapayag na makipag-ayos sa maling gawain ng mga abusadong otoridad?

Kung ikaw ay taga gobyerno, tanungin mo ang iyong amo o mga kasamahan, bakit sila nanahimik sa gitna nang laganap na korupsyon sa kanilang mga opisina? Bakit sila nanahimik sa gitna nang labis na dusa ng taong bayan na dapat ay kanilang pinagsisilbihan?

Kung ikaw ay sundalo, tanungin mo ang iyong opisyal at mga kasamahan, kung bakit patuloy pa rin ang inyong pagsisilbi sa isang gobyerno na wala nang tiwala ang taong bayan? Bakit patuloy pa rin ang inyong pagsisilbi sa isang gobyernong nagnanakaw sa bayan? Bakit patuloy ang inyong pagsisilbi sa isang organisasyong hindi na taga bantay-laya kundi isa nang taga bantay-nakaw?

Kung ikaw ay isang guro, tanungin mo ang kasamahan at mga opisyal ninyo, bakit marami sa kanila ang hindi sinusunod ang kanilang mga tinuturo? Bakit hindi nila maisabuhay ang maging isang ulirang modelo ng mga batang kanilang tinuturuan? Bakit isa sa pinaka-talamak na ahensya ng gobyerno ang DepEd? Bakit uso na sa parochial o private schools ang rebate sa book purchase?

Kung ikaw ay isang relihoyoso, tanungin mo ang iyong mga kasamahan at mga superyora, obispo, o cardinal, bakit meron sa kanila ang siya mismong taga suway ng kanilang sermon sa pulpito ng simbahan? Bakit tayo na nataguriang most Christian nation ay siya ring most corrupt sa Asya at isa sa pinaka-corrupt sa mundo? Bakit marami sa kanila ang nag-bubulag-bulagan at nagbibingi-bingihan sa napakaraming katiwalian ng gobyerno ni GMA na nagtutulak sa napakaraming Pilipino lugmok sa kahirapan na gumawa ng kasalanan sa kapwa niya at sa Diyos?

Kung ikaw ay isang OFW, tanungin mo ang iyong sarili sampu ng mga kasamahan mo, kung ano ang serbisyo na naibibigay sa inyo ng gobyerno sa panganib na sinusuong ninyo bilang tagataguyod ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas? Tanungin mo ang inyong pamilya kung ano ang kanilang natatanggap na tulong sa gobyerno kung kayo ay minamaltrato o ina-agrabyado sa ibang bansa?

Higit sa lahat, kung ikaw ay isang Pilipino, tanungin mo ang iyong sarili, bakit mo hinayaang gawin sa iyo ang pang-aabuso sa iyong dangal at pagkatao? Bakit mo hinahayaan na ang pinagpaguran mong pera ay bawasan ng buwis, na ang binibili mong pagkain, kuryente at gasolina ay patawan ng mas mataas na buwis, para lamang sa pakinabang ng mga nakaupo sa gobyernong ito ni GMA?

Matuto tayong magtanong hanggang tayo ay magising, dahil ang isang gising na bayan lamang ang magpapalaya sa atin laban sa mga mapang-abuso.

Why Are the Filipinos Letting GMA Abuses Go Unpunished

by

Jun Lozada

One of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, Martin Seligman, observed a phenomenon called “Learned Helplessness“. He describes it as a psychological condition in which a human being or an animal has learned to act or behave helpless in a particular situation even when it has the power to change its unpleasant or even harmful circumstance. He conducted an experiment among dogs wherein subjects were confined in a very small place where they were given electric shocks and over which they had no control, that is, no matter what they did – struggling to break free, writhing in pain – they could not stop the electric shocks. Eventually, one by one, the subjects stopped struggling, then they stopped whimpering, then they just stopped reacting altogether when given additional electric shocks. But the most striking observation of the experiment was when the dogs were put in a larger space, where ordinarily they can move away from the electric shock and get relief. However, these dogs, previously confined and subjected to shocks, “learned” that they are powerless to stop the shock; they have come to believe that no matter how hard they tried, nothing they did would make a difference, so they stopped trying. They simply lay down and completely refused to move even though a few steps would have made all the difference in the world.

Are the Filipinos already afflicted with “Learned Helplessness” with the abuses of GMA ?

Is that why people are apathetic to the widespread corruption in our midst? Is it the reason why there seems to be no outpouring of collective outrage over the brazen abuses that the government of Gloria Arroyo has done against the people? Kaya ba karamihan ng mga nagdurusang Pilipino ay tanggap na lang nang tanggap ng karagdagang pagdurusa dahil “natutunan” na nila na kahit na anong gawin nilang pag-pupumiglas ay wala ring mangyayari sa kanila? Kahit pagnakawan sila ng bilyon-bilyong piso, kahit na sila ay itaboy na parang mga hayup sa kanilang tinitirhan at pinag-titindahan at kahit na kailangan na sila ay pumila para sa bigas sa ilalim ng init ng araw, at kahit sila ang magbabayad sa lahat na mga kinukurakot ng mga opisyal ng Malacanang sa pamamagitan ng mas mataas na buwis sa kanilang mga pangunahing bilihin katulad ng gasoline at pagkain? Kaya ba manhid na ang mga Pilipino sa pang-aabuso sa kanila?

Sana naman ay huwag, kundi ay sayang lamang ang lahat na dugo nina Ninoy, Mabini, Bonifacio, Rizal, Gomburza at Lapu Lapu, atbp.

I have come to notice that some are accusing me blindly of being corrupt together with the evil one, I do not know what is their basis for saying so but discussion sake in this blog, let me share with you some of thoughts.

The black propaganda and demolition job on my person has been put to high gear since the first week of my appearance before the Senate, they have invented mountains of lies about me and my activities, they have harassed me in my forums with propaganda materials, armed goons, paid rallyist and mercenary journalists. I have repeatedly said that I am willing to face any accuser of any wrong doing in the courts of law, but why is it that the gov’t along with their mercenaries have not brought out any major scandal involving hundreds of millions or billions of pesos against me?

Kung totoong kasangkot ako sa mga malalaking korupsyon sa gobyerno sa mahigit kong dalawang taong pagkakaupo bilang presidente ng isang kumpanya ng gobyerno, eh bakit hanggang ngayon ay wala silang nilalabas na ganitong kaso para sirain ako? Bakit ang kanilang mga propaganda ay pawang gawa gawa lamang na ako ay namumulitika lamang? Bakit ang kanilang mga ebidensiya ay pawang personal na pagmumura lamang? Hindi ba kayo nagtataka?

Meron pa akong nakita na transcribed tapped conversations ko raw, halatang halata na kriminal talaga ang mga aktibidad ng mga taong gobyerno na gumagamit ng instrumento ng estado laban sa kanyang mamamayan, mga instrumento na dapat ay ginagamit laban sa mga kriminal ay ngayon ginagamit ng kriminal na gobyerno laban sa kanyang mamamayan. kung totoo yang sinasabi ninyong phone conversation ko yan, ipaamin ninyo sa mga taga gobyerno na gumawa nyan at magharap harap na tayo sa korte ng taong bayan, kaya nyo bang aminin yan?

I challenged those who are accusing me to bring me to the courts so I can confront you face to face and not hide in the anonymity of a blog, I will also challenged you to make sure that you bring the leadership of this government that I will name to give their side and testify under oath, I challenged you to commit to the Filipino people that your leaders will not hide under legal technicality such as an abused executive priveledge and be truthful in their answers to the Filipino Nation. I hope that my willingness to face the courts can also be reciprocated by those who are accusing me.

They said that the truth doesn’t come for free, I am paying a high price for it and I am willing to pay more as long as the complete picture of the truth be known to the Filipinos of how the leadership of this country is robbing its own people, robbing them of basic services, robbing the children of the love and guidance of their parents who are forced to leave to seek livelihood, and robbing many of them of their hope in their own race.

And to you dear bloggers, let me share a few lines from a book authored by Gary Zukav, I have recently read.

“Evil is an absence. It is not a presence. Evil is the absence of Love.”

“If you react self-righteously to evil, look inside yourself for the very thing that so agitates you, and you will find it there.”

“When you have an emotional reaction to evil-the absence of love-that absence is in you”

“Understanding this is very important because it enables you to personally contribute to the reduction of evil. You do that by changing yourself into the loving person that you would like others to be. Until you do so you will be part of the evil that so repulses you.”

And to those who sees nothing but malice and ill meaning without any basis, you are what you see!

Let me share with you the stories of ordinary Filipinos, street vendors, an old woman, a lady church goer and a young teenager, most of whom would remain nameless but whose encounters with me would give me the determination to keep on fighting on for what we believe is right. They are voices of the common people that most of us may never have heard, in our busy life, in our self centeredness, in our self righteousness and in the lies that Nation is being subjected to by those who profit from it.

So let me start off by sharing with you these stories beginning with the five young children who were selling Ylang-ylang and Sampaguita at the Luisita complex in Tarlac City. We were on the way back to Manila from Dagupan City when we decided to have our supper at the Max’s Restaurant at the Luisita Complex. I did not notice the children at the parking lot as I walked into the restaurant, it was one of the security people assigned to me by the Senate who noticed the children following me with their gaze and it was him whom the children asked if it was Jun Lozada who just walked in. And as we were eating, some of the security personnel who were already done with their food went out to replace those who were still in security detail outside, the newcomers to the dining area were bringing with them a garland of exactly five strings Ylang-ylang and Sampaguita flowers, which they gave to the Sisters. I did not pay much attention to it as it was customary for the security people to buy some things as errand for the Sisters until I was done with my supper and the Sisters telling me that the flowers were actually sent by five young children to be given to me, it was also one of the Sisters who told me to carry the flowers myself to show my appreciation to those kids.

As I was stepping out of the restaurant I saw the children out in the parking area still selling their flowers to the patrons of the restaurants, as they saw me coming out they came over to approach me and it was clear that they wanted to tell me something as they were nudging one of them forward, I took the initiative in establishing a conversation by thanking them for what I believe is a very noble gesture by young children such as them. What they answered me was what really touched me to the core of my being, “Sir Jun, kami nga po ang magpapasalamat sayo dahil sa pakikipaglaban niyo para sa amin, huwag po sana kayong manghina marami kaming umaasa sa inyo”.

I was lost for words for a moment and I motioned them to come closer and gave each one a rub on their head and hug them close together, as I recovered my wits I asked one of the Sisters to take a picture of me together with the children, and I promised the children that should I come out of this personal crisis in one piece I will surely come back to Luisita and treat them for a nice supper in Max’s restaurant.

These children in my story is one of the reasons that I will continue on calling the people to seek the Truth about how the people in government particularly those from the top are stealing the people’s money to fatten their own greedy pockets, how these people on top of the government are stealing money from these poor children, depriving them of good public education and denying them health care when they become sick.

It is for these children and our children and our children’s children that we should all stand up once again to fight for what is truly our right .Our right to serve and protect the needs of our people and not the insatiable greed of our so called leaders.

How many more millions of Filipino children have to be deprived of their rights to proper education, nutrition and the care of their parents before we will come out of our dwindling comforts to confront those are trampling on the future of the next generations of Filipinos?

Utang nating mga magulang at matatanda sa kabataang Pilipino na pagsilbihan at ipagtanggol ang kanilang kinabukasan, nasa kamay natin kung anong klaseng lipunan ang kanilang kamumulatan at kung anong klaseng lipunan ang ating ipapamana sa kanila. Ang kabataan ay ang pag-asa ng bayan ayon kay Gat Jose Rizal, huwag naman natin silang ilubog sa napakalalim na hukay ng utang at pabayaan ang katiwalian ng mga namumuno ng kasalukuyang gobyerno na halos nilibing na natin sila sa pagdurusa at kahirapan.

Kailangan nating kumilos para sa isang mayaman at makatarungan bayan para sa ating mga anak at mga kabataang Pilipino. Ito ay hindi mangyayari ng kusa at lalong hindi mangyayari sa kasakiman ng mga namumuno ng sistemang pangkasalukuyan.

Magmula sa Hunyo 13, Biyernes alas 5 ng hapon hanggang alas 6 ng gabi at bawat biyernes parehong oras na mga susunod pa, tayo ay makiisa o magsimula ng walkout sa ating mga eskwelahan o mga opisina o mga negosyo upang makiisa sa mga taong kumikilos sa pagpapahayag ng kanilang pagtutol sa malakihang pagnanakaw sa kinabukasan ng mga batang Pilipino, mag-umpisa ng noise barrage at makiisa sa iba pang mamamayang Pilipino na gustong ipagtanggol ang ating karapatan para sa isang matiwasay na Bayan.

Salamat Po!

Pahabol… paki lagay na rin po ang inyong mga ideya pa kung ano pang uri ng pagkilos ang inyong maiisip upang isulong ang ating pagpapahayag ng ating pagtutol sa kasalukuyang sistema ng katiwalian.

Its funny to see familiar accusations and fabrications very similar to the komiks and materials being spread by paid mercenaries invade my blog site, heck even the style and composition are the same. Funny because they always claim to speak for the Filipinos, the Fil-Ams, the OFWs, the Youth, etc., yet in fact they are only speaking for their corrupt masters.

Nakakatawa na nakita ko agad ang mga pamilyar na akusasyon at mga kapalaluan kagaya ng mga nasa mga komiks at mga materyales na ipinamimigay ng mga ahente ng gobyerno sa mga nakaraan kong mga pulong sa iba ibang lugar sa Pilipinas, pati ang pagkakasulat at tema ay akmang akma, nakakatawa na ang istilo nila ay para bang sila ay nagsasalita para sa lupon ng mga Pilipino, mga Fil-ams, mga OFW, mga kabataan at kung sino sino pa, pero batid naman ng nakakarami na sila ay nagsasalita lamang para sa kanilang tiwaling amo. Nakakatawa sila na akala mo ay nagsasalita para sa marami kahit kukunti lang sila sa kanilang opisina na gumagawa nito.

Yung iba naman ay mapapansin mong totoong tao ay hindi nagtatago sa likod ng isang alyas, in fact diyan mo makikita ang mga lehitimong tao sa kanilang pagpapakilala ng kanilang pangalan at address, kung gusto ninyo gawin nating panuntunan sa ating blog na ilahad ang ating mga totoong pangalan at address pabor man o hindi sa akin. Suggestion lamang ito upang magkaalaman na tayo.

Anyway, enough of the funny stuff and lets go to some issues that we can put to discussion.

First let us set some ground rules, no profanity! You curse you get deleted.

Bring it to court! Walang ebidensiya at dalhin sa korte

Ang unang tanong, sino ba dapat ang nagsasampa ng kaso kapag may isang krimen? Di ba dapat ay yung biktima? At sa pagkakataong ito ng NBN-ZTE deal, sino ba ang biktima? Di ba ang taong bayan? At sino ang dapat magtanggol sa interes ng taong bayan? Di ba dapat ang gobyerno? Ang DOJ o Ombudsman? Ako ay isang testigo lamang at handang humarap sa korte kapag may patas na pagdinig sa kaso kasama ang aking mga ebidensiya.

Ngayon, anong ginawa ng DOJ at Ombudsman? Nagsampa na ba siya ng kaso laban sa mga nasangkot na personalidad, katulad kina Arroyo, Abalos, FG, Ruben Reyes, Leo San Miguel at iba pa? HINDI, DI BA? Bakit hindi niya sampahan? Dahil ba hindi ang interes ng taong bayan ang kanyang pinoprotektahan kungdi ang interes ng mga taong nasa kapangyarihan na nagluklok sa kanilang mga puwesto? Kung ayaw nila eh sino ang magtatanggol sa interes ng taong bayan?

My answer, ang aking kasagutan

Ito ang aking kasagutan dun sa mga naghahanap ng ebidensiya sa akin, magsampa kayo ng kaso kasama ng DOJ at Ombudsman at ako ay handang tumestigo para sa bayan at para sa mga taong bayan..

Kung totoo kayong nagmamalasakit sa bayan, hinahamon ko kayong magsampa ng kaso laban kina Arroyo, FG, Abalos at iba pa at ako ay handang tumestigo para sa inyo.

Who will fight for the Filipino people if the very people who are supposed to represent their interest are no longer serving them but the interest of the ruling class alone?

During the recent months that I have been in the public eye, I had the opportunity to have meaningful discussions with the Filipino youth of different socio-economic, ideological, religious and regional profiles. In all of these forums there appear to be a common thread of thoughts that cut across the youth of the land, and that is their abhorrence of the current socio-economic-political structure of the country in its different forms.

From the sociological form of modern day hunter-gatherer society where the able men and women of the community have to leave their young in order to find “food” for their sustenance in their own community, sacrificing the precious years of early childhood up to the adolescent years of their children without the loving care and guidance of one or both parents. These OFWs are victims of a society where the governing class look at the exploitation of these OFWs suffering away from their families and sometimes from their evil masters, as their main source of foreign exchange to pay off their loans which feed their greedy pockets.

To the economic structure of modern day feudal lords, a structure that has persisted over the long years of struggle of the common Filipino for economic equity, the struggle is simply not over land ownership but over the unequal access to capital that is most necessary in creating the much needed that propels an economy to prosperity. Look at the failed land reform program of this government, where most of the beneficiaries have sold back their land to a new landed class mainly composed of the corrupt politicians and their greedy financiers.

Lastly to the dysfunctional political system that brings about a government made up of politicians that treats a public office as a business enterprise for their family and their cronies, politicians who looks at a public as a franchise held by their family, bought from the public every election time and duly certified by a COMELEC that is also paid to award the franchise.

Questions I have heard
Most the questions I have heard are related to how and what the youth can do to in the middle of this difficult adult reality that they will coming into very soon in their young lives.

Questions such as…..

Kung ayaw ba naming tanggapin ang ganitong lipunan, ang ibig sabihin ba ay dalawa lang ang aming pamimilian? Ang lumabas ng bansa o ang lumaban sa kabundukan?

Na kung kami ba ay magpapasiyang manatili sa bansang ito, na dalawa rin lang ang pwede naming kahantungan? Biktima o nang bibiktima?

Hope and reality
People generally find hope in their reality, but our current situation is creating a very strong tension within the general society and amongst the institutions, groups, families and even individuals that makes up this society, a tension of holding on to both living in our reality and holding on to our hope.

Para tayong hinihila sa magkabilang kamay yung isa nakahawak sa ating kasalukuyang pamumuhay, isang kasalukuyan na ang pagnanakaw ay isang katanggap-tanggap na Gawain ng isang taga-gobyerno, lalo na kapag ito ay ilang daang milyon o ilang pung bilyon. Isang kasalukuyan na kailangan iwan ng isa o ng parehong magulang ang kanyang mga mahal sa buhay upang sila ay mabuhay ng buo. Isang Kasalukuyan na ang interes ng taong bayan ay pinasasawalang bahala ng mga kapwa Pilipino sapagkat siya rin ay kumakayod lamang para sa kanyang sariling pangangailangan. Isang kasalukuyan ay gusto ng talikuran ng mga nakakarami.

Ngunit marami pa ring ayaw bitawan ang kanilang pag-asa na may patutunguhan at may kahihinatnan ang kumilos para sa Bayan, na marami pa ring kapwa Pilipino ang may malasakit sa Bayan, marami pa rin ang gustong umasa na ang kabataan ng bayang Pilipinas ay natututo na mag tanong at mag-isip na hindi na pupwede ang ganitong lipunan, na ayaw na nilang manahin at ipamana pa sa kanilang magiging mga anak ang ganitong klaseng baluktot na sistema ng lipunan.

Ito kabataang Pilipino ang tension na hinaharap ninyo ngayon, tatanggapin niyo ba ang ganitong kasalukuyan? Malulunok niyo ba ang ganitong klaseng pamumuno? Kaya ba ng konsensiya ninyo na malaon-laon kayo na rin ang ninanakawan o nangnanakaw sa Bayan? O ipaglalaban ninyo ang inyong pag-asa na may mas maayos na kinabukasan na pwede ninyong kamtin para sa inyo? Na kaya ninyong baguhin ang baluktot na sistema ng lipunang Pilipino para sa inyong mga anak? Na hindi kayo panghihinaan ng kalooban kahit kayo ay hindi pinakikinggan ng mga nakakatanda sa inyo sa edad ngunit hindi sa pagmamahal sa bayan?

Pag-asa!
Ito ang aking dalangin para sa inyo kabataang Pilipino, sana ay patnubayan kayo ng poong maykapal ng pananampalataya sa kanyang kabutihan, habang kayo ay humaharap sa ganitong pagsubok ng inyong katatagang loob.

Dahil kung meron ma akong natutunan sa mga nakalipas na buwan, ito ay ang kaalaman na ang kabaliktaran pala ng takot ay hindi tapang kungdi ay pananampalataya. Ako man ay may takot mula noon at hanggang ngayon sa ngitngit ng mga buwaya sa gobyerno, ngunit ang aking pananamplataya lamang sa Diyos ang nagdudulot ng lakas ng loob na aking ipagpatuloy ang paninindigan para sa katotohanan na ang pamumuno mismo ng gobyernong Arroyo ang siyang nagsusulong ng pinaka-malaking pagnanakaw sa ating Bayang Pilipinas.

Sulong Kabataan!

“All profound human advancement destroys the society in which it was born.”

Herodotus said, “All things are born in war.” Notoriously anti-war, Herodotus obviously did not mean ‘war’ to mean bloodshed or armed conflict. Rather, he pointed to how everything that comes to being is born in struggle: butterflies fight their way out of cocoons, eagles peck and claw their way out of eggs and even babies must fight their way free of the birth canal.

Herodotus’ message is anything but comforting. However, I feel it is timely and appropriate in these times of anxiety and turmoil. All beginnings, whether birth or rebirth, are chaotic and terrifying, and therefore require innate strength and courage. The alternative is to suffocate and die in darkness.

Historical exigency and colonial exploitation has made the Filipinos forget of the great teachings of our heroes. However, the nation in crisis is again calling forth this spirit. This upheaval is a time of reawakening, a period of catharsis towards self-renewal.

The Filipino is coming of age.

Soon the children of the Nation will rediscover their heritage and reclaim their true identity as a nation of heroes. They will find their way, guided by the principles of the first sons of the Nation – Rizal and Mabini, to name but a few – to a new way of life. A new age. With a new ideology.

The Liga Ng Pilipino aims to help usher in this new age, to revive the spirit of our heroes and imbibe the nation with knowledge of their teachings and bring about the creation of a modern Filipino ideology. It aims to use that same spirit, the same way it was used by Rizal a century ago, to unite and galvanize a fractious nation into one tide, powerful enough to drive away the Spanish colonizers after almost 400 years of colonial domination.

In tangible terms, the Liga ng Pilipino aims to create and lead a political force firmly anchored in our Nation’s history and culture, with a sole purpose of uplifting the human dignity of every Filipino. This shall be accomplished by providing freedom from the want of food, shelter and education, the freedom to pursue their happiness, and the freedom to practice their beliefs.

While this work attempts to revisit and encapsulate the lessons of Philippine history to use in creating a road map for the future, it is not meant to be a historical textbook or authority on historical events. Rather, it is meant to present a new way of studying and interpreting the lessons of history, from a ‘dangal ng lahi” perspective,” as prescribed by Rizal. It is meant to be a reminder and a guide to the new patriots, as we prepare the soil for a bountiful harvest of patriotic fervor.

A century ago the teachings of Rizal gave birth to a revolution. Today, we shall again take up his fight, not against foreign oppressors, but our own nihilism, and armed not with bullets and swords but with knowledge and information.

I. SOME DOCTORS TREAT THE SYMPTOMS, THE BEST ONES CURE THE CAUSE

It is an undeniable fact that the Philippines, once to the most envied nation in Asia during the mid 20th century, is in crisis. Our people are poor, not only in economic terms, but we are culturally lost and morally weak. We were not always this way – our history was glorious and full of promise. Yet we look at our country now, at a loss as to how we have come down this path. Time and again we have tried to reverse ourselves, fix our perceived problems. As with physical pains, our automatic response has been attempt to gain relief and rid ourselves of the pain. We have applied salves, massaged the aching part of our body and maybe even taken medication orally. In the extreme situation, perhaps we may have even considered surgery, drastically cutting off limbs in order to spare the rest of the body. However, until we know the actual cause of our pain, all of these actions will only aggravate the pain, worsen our condition, or even lead to our death.

Our country is suffering a lot of pain right now. We have been witness to numerous efforts to relieve the Nation of these difficulties. We have tampered with our Constitution, created various commissions –from good governance to values formation,– we have raised a couple of EDSA revolutions, a number of coup d’ etats, negotiated peace agreements with armed insurgents, and others, all of which were supposed to cure the country of its malady and set it on the road to progress and prosperity. Most of these efforts to improve the living conditions of the Filipinos have failed. Some of these programs are even to blame for worsening the situation.

The failure of these attempts may be attributed to a litany of reasons, such as graft and corruption in government, corrupt politician, undisciplined people, lazy Filipinos, Talangka mentality, etc. It is the proverbial situation where the patient not only fails to recover, he is in fact chastised and blamed by the doctor, when in fact the doctor had given the wrong prescription/diagnosis. A situation reminiscent of the Spanish colonizers’ attempt to justify their enslavement of our people by blaming the indolence of the Filipinos for the misery they were suffering under the Spaniards.

Just as Rizal repudiated the claims of the Spaniards through his scholarly opus “The Indolent Filipino,” we must arm ourselves with scholarly knowledge of our culture and history in order that we may clearly identify the causes of our Nation’s suffering. For it is only with full knowledge of the true causes can we summon the courage and resolve to extinguish our people’s suffering, one painful step at a time, freeing them from poverty and restoring their dignity and humanity.

We were a new Filipino Nation fighting for our freedom at the twilight of the 19th century when our country came neareast to a genuine nationalist freedom more than any other time in history. It is the spirit of that struggle that we must recapture in preparing our people for nationhood in the 21st century. It is a spirit firmly anchored in our history and our culture. A spirit that was sparked by Rizal and that will permeate through every aspect of our lives, from the education of our children, the practice of arts and culture, the bureaucracy of our government, the conduct of business and politics in our beloved country.

II. THE PHILIPPINES AS A BASTARD CHILD

A short interpretation of history

To the Filipino, God is ever our father and the country is our mother. However, our innocent mother was discovered by the Spanish in 1521 and ravaged in 1565 by the arrival of the conquistadores led by Legazpi. Generations of Filipinos lived and died as abused bastard children of an exploitive foreigner. Our Mother suffered greatly with the oppression of her children who were shackled in ignorance and kept away from the exploding social and industrial developments of the 18th and 19th century.

The year 1872 marked the awakening of the country when the innocent blood of Gomes, Burgos and Zamora were spilled in reprisal for an aborted mutiny. These children of 1872, particularly Jose Rizal and Marcelo Del Pilar, bravely went to the home of our foreign conquerors to ask that we be treated more like stepchildren than slaves. These propagandists were instrumental in the patriotic awakening of more Filipinos, particularly Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini, who joined in the fight to defend our trampled rights as citizens in our own country.

The year 1896, witness to the execution of the country’s Eldest Son, Jose Rizal, was the breaking point of this asphyxiating surrogate relationship. Inspired by the ideals of Rizal, Andres Bonifacio led the cry for justice and the movement to break free to chart our own Filipino course. Soon most of the children were nursed with these same ideals and the surrogate was faced with the fury of exploding social volcano.
Divide and Conquer

However, on May 1897, a day of darkness prevailed. Andres Bonifacio died at the treacherous hands of a covetous countryman, Emilio Aguinaldo. Soon after his death the revolution lost its spirit, a situation taken advantage of by other less patriotic children, especially those favored by the surrogate father with material wealth. And a peace pact was immediately concluded at Biak-na-Bato between the surrogate and the covetous child, who was rewarded with 800,000 pesos in selling out the aspiration of the Filipino people for freedom and self determination.

At the same era, far away in the west, a great young nation born out of the spirit of freedom and equality of mankind was then contemplating freeing all the lands under the weight of our old and corrupt surrogate masters. While it seemed a very noble undertaking at the surface, it was underlined with imperialistic designs. They schemed to wrest our mother country from our false father that they may fulfill their own imperialistic desires. In 1898, this imperialist power waged war on our surrogate in the name of freedom and rescued the covetous son of our country from lawsuits in Hong Kong as a result of his wanton splurging of the movement’s money. He was a perfect puppet for the imperialist, being naive and unsophisticated in world affairs. The covetous son was brought home by the imperialist to rally support for the movement, now tacitly backed by the young western power.
Manifest Destiny

Soon, the surrogate father was running out of supplies and losing the war against the determined children of our land. During these times of euphoria, another great son of our country continued to warn the covetous son of the dangers he and the imperialists brought top the land, but was dismissed as the alarmist thoughts of a paralytic. At the end 1898, the unthinkable happened, the motherland suffered another betrayal. She was sold by the false father to the imperialist for $20M, her children like a herd of sheep, with a price of $2.50 per Filipino head.

Too late the naïve covetous son realized that he had been duped by the American imperialist ambition. Belatedly, he took arms against his former allies, who has now turned invaders. The motherland was once again afire with hatred and awash with blood that the new invaders spilled in the name of their “pacification campaign.” More than 220,000 Filipinos were lost, in battles such as those of Balangiga and Tirad Pass. The Philippines had now become a sacrifice to the American’s cause of “benevolent assimilation.” It is interesting to note that this is also what is happening to Iraq today. In short, the Philippines was America’s Iraq a hundred years ago.

Our young nation, born from the blood of heroes who fought Spain, now grew up recognizing America as her father, a misassumption encouraged by Aguinaldo when he forced the revolutionaries to swear fealty to the new conqueror. A few patriots, knowing the truth, chose to die rather than accept this lie.

In 1902, the bullets stopped flying, but only with the deaths of those who refused to recognize America’s sovereignty. This marked the full enslavement of our fledging nation, considered a barbarian and kept in chains by its new master.
Not Armed Occupation but Economic Domination

Our fledging country learned to walk, aided and shadowed by the new father it now recognized. All traces and records of its short history as a nation was captured and confiscated by the imperialist father, in order that the young nation would never grow to be its own independent people. In time, the young nation grew to recognize and love the imperialistic conqueror as a true father, not realizing that it had actually enslaved its mother country.

History reveals that there are ways to keep a nation in chains: (1) keep them in ignorance, (2) keep them in poverty, or (3) exterminate them. The Spaniards had kept the Filipinos ignorant and poor but had been unable to exterminate them. The new imperialists, on the other hand educated us but kept us poor. They allowed civil and political freedom while justifying the colonization of our motherland by claiming that the Filipinos were unfit for self-government and that it was their manifest destiny and their mandate from God “to educate uplift, civilize and Christianize” the Filipinos. They allowed us civil and political freedoms that the Spaniards had denied us, but claimed that we were yet unfit for self-government.

The American foster father educated the young nation, allowed the Filipinos civil and political liberties, but at a great price to the nation. In exchange, the imperialist took advantage of the strategic location of the Philippines to establish military bases and the kept control of our economy. Not only did our new nation’s identity become lost and corrupted, its riches were sacrificed for the economic interest of the Americans.

All this occurred with nary a protest from the young and innocent nation who trusted the foster father for its well-being.

In 1941, a new conqueror arrived, this time from within Asia. A race that refused to bow down to the Westerners, their goal was to stop the lands in Asia from being conquered or seized by these outsiders. Our young nation was once again plunged into war and violence, fighting beside its recognized father. After a protracted and brutal struggle, the imperialists were forced to abandon the country, promising to return. Starved of aid, thousands upon thousands of Filipinos died under the hands of this new conqueror, while they waited for their “father” to return.

In 1946, our growing nation was “granted” freedom and independence by the Western foster father, but only upon the condition that its riches would remain in their keeping and that its military would remain on our land.

Time passed and the young nation continued to be led by leaders that remained loyal to the interests of the western father. While these leaders had good intentions and truly wished to see our young nation prosper, they failed. Their hands, as well as the reins of the government and the economy, were still tied, with the foreigners pulling the purse-strings.

By 1972, more and more children awakened to the truth that the “father” they had long recognized was not their true father. They began to question the true motives of the Americans. They were harshly rebuked and bidden to be silent through the threats of a brilliant and ambitious leader, Marcos. He was able to threaten the new patriots with the encouragement and support of the Americans who promised him more wealth and power as long he kept the status quo. The nation continued to weaken, become more divided, under Marcos’ martial law regime. But even its armies of police and death squads was unable to squash all resistance. Ultimately, the people, with their history of courage and love of freedom, would rise up against the Marcos government, spelling the death of one of the country’s best opportunity to rise up as one Nation under the visionary leadership of Marcos.
The New Revolution

In 1986, the brilliant yet misguided leader-son was cast off by his brothers and he was quickly snatched away and brought to safety by the foreign father he had served well for so long. He was brought to the father’s land and stayed there until the hour of his death. The whole world celebrated the peaceful “People Power” revolution brought about by the Filipino brothers, but most of the people who replaced the old governance also grew up on the shadow and teachings of the foreign foster father and continued to fulfill its teachings and serve its interests, such as continuing to pay debts incurred during the time of the dictatorship, none of which benefited the nation.

The joy and celebration faded quickly as the people continued to suffer poverty and hardship, to the point of hopelessness and starvation. Some children of the new nation decided to take their fates into their own hands and tried to seize power from the sitting government, believing they would be able to do more for their country and better serve their fellow Filipinos, however, when they were near victory the foreign imperialist once again meddled, negating the efforts of these idealist Filipinos, it was a very clever and effective way of expressing American support for the government who had remained obedient to their instructions and interest.

In the 1990s, the Philippines underwent three leadership changes. All three promised hope and prosperity for the country but none could alleviate the suffering. The unrest and struggle continued to worsen, the hostilities between brothers spread further. More people lost hope for reconciliation and progress.

In the 2000s, the nation joined the foster father it its fight against Iraq and was rewarded by a mere visit, and not even the financial support that it had given to other nations. This brought forth more questions about the nature of the relationship between our fledging nation and our “father.” While it is true that our “father” is powerful, is it really to our benefit to continue to cater to his whims? If this relationship is truly beneficial, why do we continue to suffer when our land is rife with riches and the Filipinos are some of the most brilliant, talented and hardworking people in the world? Till when are we supposed to go on like this? How much more suffering can our poor country take?

The aim of this document is not merely to recount the events but to ask the question, the way Rizal did so long ago: “Tayo ba ay sadyang hamak na ginawa ng Diyos or sadyang hindi pa lamang nabibigyan ng pagkakataon?” Are we inherently poor because we were created that way or is it only that we have not had the chance to forge our destiny ourselves?

“Knowledge of the past is a potent weapon in the conquest of the future.” If by revisiting the past we can find the answer to this question, or even if only raises new questions as to why our nation is suffering as it is, then it will have done its purpose. We hope this is the start of the awakening of our minds towards the lessons of history, our heritage and our Dangal Ng Lahi; an awakening sorely overdue towards recovery and renewal, and ultimately true independence and progress of the Filipino people.
III. ANG LIGA NG PILIPINO: RATIONALE FOR A REVOLUTION

A study of Philippine history allows us insight on our psyche as a people, it provides many examples of turning points where the Filipino could have had seized control of his destiny yet failed. Many of us have therefore become resigned to the idea that it is too late for our country, that we are too much in debt, our government is too corrupt, our people are too undisciplined, etc. Many of our countrymen have fled to other shores in search of better lives, thinking as if the Filipino culture is not capable of progress anymore and only the foreign culture are capable of progress. However, many more of us are like Rizal, who despite three hundred years of enslavement and turmoil held fast to his faith in the Filipino.

A hundred years later, we continue to place our trust and pin our hopes on the youth. Just as Rizal once exhorted them to break free from the shackles that bound their hearts and minds so that they may soar to the heavens and attain their dreams, so do we call on the Filipino of today to remember their heritage and destiny, to hold fast and revive the Filipino values that we believe will propel the nation to independence and preserve time-honored traditions as a distinct race. We seek to remind the Filipino of his true heritage, the truth of the blood that flows in his veins, and in doing so redefine and re-ignite his sense of nationalism.

While others may have prescriptive answers for the problems of the Philippines, we recognize, just as Rizal and Mabini and the patriots of old, that the power belongs to the people and change must begin within a person. We believe that once the Filipinos posses the same vision, set their minds on the same goals, we will naturally unite and act in accordance to the fulfillment of that shared aspiration. In a nutshell, the right mindset leads to the correct behaviors, which will in turn lead to the desired result, in this case a revitalized Philippines. Towards this shared vision, therefore, we have created the Liga ng Pilipino, in the hopes of calling together nationalists of the same persuasion, enlightening and guiding the lost, that we may band together, work towards and finally achieve our true destiny.

A century ago, Rizal identified specific conditions for a “just revolution.” An avid advocate of peace, he nevertheless stated that under very special and specific circumstances, it is necessary that we take control of our own destiny.

1. There must be a grievous situation that warrants action.

Mere dissatisfaction or disagreement with policy is not enough cause for revolution. Strict and healthy respect for diversity is vital in a democracy. Here we must be able to distinguish between mere political noise and genuine cause, between unpopular opinion and true oppression. Before any fight is taken up, it must first be determined if the cause is just. Even then, the people must first exhaust all peaceful means to seek resolution. Once all other options have failed, then the Filipino must be prepared to do whatever is necessary, even take up arms, in order to set the country right and the Filipino free.

2. We must prepare for imminent victory.

Once it has been determined that a revolution is necessary and once the people have resolved to change the situation, the people must already have a plan of action to replace the old system. Most freedom movements were concerned mostly with how to wrest the reins of power and not how to establish a new order. Due to this absence of a post-victory scenario, the Philippines has wasted many opportunities for significant change and renewal. Aside from 1898 Philippine Revolution, the nearest the Philippines has ever come to genuine freedom was in 1986, during the first People Power Revolution. However, the leaders of that movement were unprepared for such historic opportunity. Once they were established as the new government, they simply change the personalities and continued to build on an existing system that was already flawed. It was the same dog with a different collar!

3. We must not leave even a single trace of the system we fought against or it will simply come back in a more vicious form.

Corollary to the above “condition,” the Filipinos must not only prepare for victory, they must prepare to completely restructure the system of government. Again, after the first EDSA revolution, corruption continued to hold the “new” government in a death-grip, being comprised of the old crony-dynasties: the Cojuangcos, the Aquinos and the Marcoses. A more recent example, replacing Estrada with Macapagal-Arroyo, was an equally divisive & futile task. While replacing the head operator of flawed machinery is crucial, it means nothing if the machinery itself remains in place.

The Liga Ng Pilipino believes that this “grievous situation” alluded to by Rizal exists, that it has existed since the Spaniards created the conditions in the Philippines and continues to exist till this day. We believe that the time is not only ripe for a social revolution, that it is necessary and inevitable. To this end, it becomes clear that the task of the Filipino in bringing forth a brighter future is two-fold: establishing and supporting the proper system of government and electing the right leaders.

The current crisis in government reaffirms the exigency of the above tasks. The media is flooded by the two most pressing issues whose answers are purported to be the answers to the nation’s problems. Will our country’s problems truly be solved by a shift to a federal parliamentary form of government and the removal of Arroyo from office? Do Filipinos even understand what a federal parliament entails? In the same vein, while the ouster of the current president is certainly an option, the people remain confused and tentative in their choice for a replacement.

The following sections of this document are dedicated to sharing our vision of a post-victory scenario and our ideology of leadership. The aim of the Liga Ng Bayan is not to endorse a specific form of government or candidate. What form of government is right and who leads it will be for the people to decide. However, we believe that what is necessary is to equip the people with capacity to make value judgements on what is right for the nation. We believe that what is necessary is to strengthen the institutions such as the election process and the justice system, as they are the foundations of the government and community, and that this is possible only through the empowerment of the people.

Bridging the gap between our unstable present and our desired future is a task that will require discipline, determination and a shared vision of a future. Keeping our desired end in mind and guided by this shared mindset, we can now begin to find the path to progress and our way to becoming the great citizens of the world that we were destined to be.

IV. ANG DOCTRINA NG BAGONG BAYAN: A POST-VICTORY SCENARIO

The post-victory scenario envisioned by the Liga is simple. This scenario, which we call the Doctrina ng Bagong Bayan, is based on the principle of Dangal Ng Lahi.

We believe that despite having lost our way, we Filipinos continue to hold within ourselves the promise that Rizal saw so brightly shining within us. We believe that given the opportunity, we can stand side by side with any nation, achieve progress on our terms and without compromising our ideals.

We recognize food sufficiency as the source of political power of the people. Food sufficiency supports the creation of a truly symbiotic political relationship between the leaders and their constituents. We believe that the people must first be freed from hunger of the body in order that we may pursue the higher needs of the mind and the soul.

We recognize the protection and enforcement of property rights as the source of economic power of the people. Property rights supports the creation of wealth among the people in their practice of exchange economy, as well as the creation of wealth for the State in their practice of re-distributive economy.

We recognize a shared belief in the goodness and talent of the Filipino race as the source of social Capital. The ideology of goodness supports the creation of an organization of social relationships between the leaders and the constituents based on trust, respect and equality.

This doctrine is designed to strengthen the socio, economic, political pillars required of a modern Nation State, as we envisioned the Philippines to be in the 21st century. It is the mindset, the tool, the weapon that we believe will be the proponent first of an internal paradigm shift and ultimately a social revolution towards the true Bayan ng Pilipinas.

1. AFTER THE FALLOUT

Once victory is achieved, the first thing people will feel about the new government is uncertainty. Change will naturally make people uncertain, particularly people who used to hold a certain amount of power and enjoys the pleasure of wealth in the old establishment. The new government must immediately address these concerns or the consequences will be dire.

Fear always breaks down people into their most primal instincts – flee or fight. Those who feel threatened will always either fight the establishment or flee the country. Fighting, either in the form of resistance or rebellion, wastes time and resources better spent rebuilding and strengthening the new society. As for flight, flight of citizens translates to flight of capital and resources, capital that is valuable in acquiring the resources in rebuilding of the country. Such setbacks will only hinder the restoration and growth of the nation.

The first policy statement of any new government must therefore be dedicated in assuaging the fear of the people. They should be made to understand that they have nothing to fear, and the goal of the new government is to restore the rule of law.

II. ESTABLISH THE THREE PILLARS OF POWER

The key to unraveling any mess that the nation finds itself in is right governance. However, instead of trying to enforce a broad scope of governance, which would require much force and resources, and which would no doubt inspire much resistance, it would be better to focus on a minimum but definite set of laws that can be deeply enforced. Physics proves that similar forces applied to two areas of different sizes, will result in far more pressure in the smaller area relative to the bigger area.

Recognizing that the modern state rests on three pillars of governance – socio, economic and political – these pillars must be strengthened for a nation to be strong. It is necessary that we understand how power is created through these three pillars.

A. POLITICAL POWER: Food Sufficiency towards Political Stability

Watch any news program involving a protest and chances are it is someone protesting high prices and lack of livelihood. These are political problems that stem from a very basic need – the need of people to sustain their physiological needs. The most noble of speeches will always be drowned out by hunger pangs. Until government can adequately provide for the basic needs of its people, it cannot expect to move forward and grow. The key to growth and political stability, therefore, is clearly food sufficiency.

Any study of history will always point to food sufficiency as the cornerstone of civilization. In the earliest days, there were no superpowers, debtor countries, or monopolies. As hunter-gatherers, subsistence was the main agenda, and while people likely had different abilities, no one controlled the food supply. People were nomadic, following the food supply and slaves to the movements of nature. Once the people were able to produce food – through farming, fishing and animal husbandry – they were able to stay in one place, build permanent structure and have sedentary lifestyles. Communities began to be formed. Sharing technology and resources allowed them to produce more food. Once food sufficiency was attained, they could now engage in task specialization. From being socio-economic equals of hunter-gatherers, there arose class distinctions and classifications such as warrior, medicine women, farmers, teachers, and others. Thus civilization is born. It is no coincidence that the world’s most famous philosophers and thinkers came from the great civilizations. Freedom from physical hunger allows the pursuit of higher goals and aspirations.

Once a community grows and becomes progressive, however, it must focus on protecting its assets from external threats, traditionally either by annexing or annihilating the perceived threat. This gives birth to armies, and ultimately, to empires.

The oligarchy created first by the Spaniards and the monopolies created by the Americans have destroyed our capability for food self-sufficiency. Transforming a great number of our countrymen & women to today’s modern hunter-gatherers (the overseas workers), needing to go outside of the country-community to earn money. The money they send back is then used to buy food that mostly comes from outside the country – creating a vicious cycle and a cruel irony for people living in a land so blessed with natural resources.

The primary task of the government should therefore be to enforce laws that will ensure food sufficiency. The food sources – our farms, our fields, our forests and our waters – should be protected on a political level. Once food sufficiency is achieved, political stability and progress will naturally follow. In fact, it is the nature of man to always protect its source of sustenance. If the source of food is integrally tied to the political system, the people will act in accordance to its preservation.
B. ECONOMIC POWER: Protection of Property Rights towards Prosperity

While most people know that the Philippine economy is based on a capitalist system, they may not necessarily understand how capitalism works and some may not even care at all. While some educated citizens may argue that other systems may be more advantageous or desirable, we simply have to accept that this is the current reality, free market capitalism rules, not only in the Philippines but in the world. I always believe that to be good in a certain game, the first things we must know are the rules of the game. It is necessary therefore that you should know even the rudimentary rules of the capitalist game.

In a nutshell capitalism revolves around capital. Capital can mean many things but for our purpose we will define financial capital as the value assigned by an institution of capitalism (such as banks and stock exchange) to an ownership.this ownership can be real property (land), intellectual property (patents, books, etc.) or time (such as daily, monthly labor). In a capitalist society, therefore, the source of power is property rights. As with food sufficiency, the first priority of the revolutionary government in order to secure economic stability is to balance the distribution of wealth by protecting and enforcing property rights.

Land reform is also the most obvious demonstration of social egalitarianism. As Lenin noted in 1905, mere land distribution is not enough. Only those who posses the capital to till the land can do so and therefore “socialization of the land” cannot be effected without “socialization of capital.” This has been the flaw of all the land reform movements in the last hundred years. Even Marcos’s Agrarian Reform project was aimed at social emancipation rather than an economic movement of “socializing capital.”

Of the approximately 30 million hectares of land owned by the government, only 15 million are titled, that leaves 15 million hectares that can be still be distributed and utilized productively. Assigning value to property rights to the land allows it to be translated into financial capital, which is in turn translated to a source of economic power, rightfully in the hands of the people.
C. SOCIAL POWER: Transformative Education towards empowered Citizenry

Modern States derived its power to rule from the consent of the people, Abraham Lincoln’s government of the people, by the people and for the people still is the norm of today’s nation states’ government.

People being the primary building blocks of modern democratic societies is one of the most important form of capital in nation building, the so called Social Capital ranks as one of the pre-requisite in creating a modern nation State. Thus, it is a sacred duty of the government to serve the advancement of the children of this generation and the succeeding generations of Filipinos in the field of education. A complete overhaul of the current education system beginning with the institutions of public education to the curriculum and teaching methodologies must be employed to fulfill this duty to our people. Because we believe that only an empowered citizenry can participate in the political dynamics required in a modern democratic society, without an empowered citizenry, it will simply be a mockery of democratic processes by an elite ruling class over a multitude of destitute and mal-educated majority of working class Filipinos.

This scenario must be presented well to the people in order to get their consent for the program of government that will be implemented to turn this scenario into reality. Once this consent is manifested in a legitimate electoral exercise or a plebiscite, the business of establishing the institutions that will administer the execution of governance and delivery of State services to the people must immediately commence.

Building the institutions that will build the Nation

History has shown including the most recent events in Iraq that regime change is the easy part in effecting change in a Nation’s leadership, what has proven to be more difficult is the tasks of establishing a new order of government. Choosing which institutions to build is a very critical decision that a new Government must make, because any perception of failure entails risking the withdrawal of consent of the people that may lead to a political crisis that could spiral out of control.

Institutions of Prosperity before institutions of democracy

Another look at history has shown us that it is prosperity that leads towards a strengthening of democratic institutions and not the other way around of democracy leading to prosperity. Examples abound from the most recent economic miracles that were borne out authoritarian regimes such as Singapore, Korea, Malaysia that matured into a more democratic society once prosperity has been achieved. Even the present democratic States such as the United States of America were first prosperous colonies of an imperial monarchy before becoming a Democratic independent nation. While poor countries that were constituted as democratic State from its birth of independence from its former rulers, most of them have remained undeveloped and mired in poverty. Making a farce of its democratic processes and institutions and serving the interest of the ruling elite rather than the majority of the people.

It is with this realization that I propose the building of these institutions of Prosperity that will govern the Nation towards a progressive and democratic State.

Institution of Protection and enforcement of Property rights

Land or real property is the most basic source of capital according to the rules of Capitalism, being the de facto economic system of the present world, wherein it states that Capital is created only upon the assignment of value to a certain property rights by the institutions of Capitalism which are the banks and the stock exchange. We propose the creation of a single body managing and administering the protection of property Rights, it must address the infirmities of the current system and easily allow the conversion of the entire Nation’s real property asset into capital whenever there is a need to do so. It shall also unleash the confidence of the public to invest and develop real property assets knowing that their investment are covered with secure titles & certificates and shall be protected with a firm enforcement of property rights laws.

This institution shall secure for the Nation the most basic building block of prosperity in the modern economic society and must be protected from being captured by vested interest groups with a robust set of laws. All efforts must be exerted and all resources must be employed to hold this most essential institution free to serve the interest of the Filipino people.

Institution of Scientific Research and Technological Development

Technology is another source of capital thru the creation of Intellectual Property Rights or IPR, looking at the top corporations of the world will show you that IPR and not real property rights are the main source of wealth of the modern world. It is therefore a must that an Institution dedicated to scientific research be created and supported by the highest level of government, the establishment of this institution shall ensure the next level of wealth creation for the Nation. Particular focus on environmental restorative technology and life based technology will be the priority areas for development, it is a niche that offers the most potential for a rich bio-diverse territory like ours.

This is consistent with the post victory scenario of implementing a transformative education for the youth of the Nation, this institution shall be responsible in managing the output of the revitalized education system towards creating a new basis for wealth and prosperity.

Institution of Capitals Market administration

With the abundance of capital created with the protection of real property rights and the development of Intellectual Property Rights. An institution that will administer and protect the investing public shall be created, its mandate is to seriously enforce rules and carry out severe punishment to those who will compromise the integrity of the market that may undermine the trust of the public to such a vital institution to the country’s progress. The liberty to make money must be tempered with rules of fairness and accountability, unlike the present times where outright thievery in the market such as the pre-need debacle and inside trading are slapped with the proverbial “slap on the wrist” penalty.

The primary aim of this institution is to provide access to low cost capital to invest and develop to our mis-valued real property sector and to fund scientific research and technological development of Intellectual Property Rights, thereby creating a spiraling of economic growth and prosperity that can be sustained throughout future generations of Filipinos.

Institution of Communications and Transportation

With the investment of internally generated capital into our land and industry, we expect productivity in our farms and industry to grow, these growth will require transportation systems to move the goods from the source to the market and communications infrastructure to move information between producers and consumers. An institution that will supervise the most cost effective way to move goods and information is essential to the realization of the country’s prosperity.

This institution must learn from the lessons of the past and the not so recent past, where communications and transportation projects are pushed for approval and funding simply to become expensive white elephants without any economic benefit to the people. I must reiterate that a vigilant system of checks and balance must be enforced to protect such institution from getting captured by vested interest groups.

Conclusion

We have now discussed a broad range of subjects from a new ideology, through history, a rationale for revolution, a post victory scenario and finally to building institutions to support our thrust to prosperity. It has been intellectually stimulating writing this paper in trying to decipher what is ailing our beloved Nation and what could probably cure such affliction, whatever mistake or omission is entirely my own fault. I hope that you will find some useful idea that you may use to serve our Nation, it will be a great source of joy if my writing will even lead you to take action towards helping our people.

I am sure that there still so many Filipinos out there who shares our longing for a peaceful and progressive Philippines, a country, we shall leave to our children in a better shape than the one we came into.

Let me end this paper with a quote from my favorite hero Jose Mercado Rizal……

“It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal, It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of a great edifice.”

Let us be part of the edifice of the Filipino Nation.